Gerard Gallant finally explains why he scratched Kaapo Kakko in Game 6.

Prior to the biggest game of the season for the New York Rangers, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final against defending Stanley Cup Champions the Tampa Bay Lightning, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant made a highly controversial decision when he made Rangers first round draft pick Kaapo Kakko a healthy scratch.

Gallant was asked about the decision prior to the game but he steadfastly refused to explain the decision, a trend that would continue even after the game had started. During the game itself Gallant would be asked by ESPN's Emily Kaplan about the decision and once again the Rangers head coach would refuse to comment on the topic.

"Nope," was all Gallant would give in response.

As you might expect, given that the Rangers would go on to lose the game, it was a decision that only became all that much more controversial as time wore on. Gallant didn't help the matter either because even after Game 6 was all wrapped up, the head coach continued to refuse to respond to questions about the healthy scratch of Kakko.

"I’m not going to talk about it," said Gallant following the loss in Game 6 as per Rangers reporter Mollie Walker.

On Monday, Gallant once again had to face the media and when he was confronted with the question yet again he finally gave an answer... sort of. Gallant would tell reporters that the decision was merely about icing the best possible lineup for the game, something that many feel would have included Kakko.

The NHL's Dan Rosen reported that Gallant said he was just "trying to win a hockey game."

The decision was all the more curious given the fact that the Rangers were clearly using players who were less than 100% in Game 6. The most notable example of this of course was Rangers forward Ryan Strome who appeared to be just a shell of his normal self, something that Gallant acknowledged on Monday.

"Yeah, no, he wasn't that — I mean, he gave us enough," Gallant said of Strome. "But he couldn't finish the game. I don't know. He didn't hurt us for sure. But he wasn't Ryan Strome, but he wasn't the only one."

Unfortunately it sounds like that might be the best answer were going to get out of the Rangers head coach for the time being.